Consider the following statements about gallantry awards in India:

1. Post-independence, first three gallantry awards were instituted on 26^th January, 1950

2. The first three gallantry awards were Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UPSC NDA-II (General Ability) Official Paper-I (Held On: 03 Sept, 2023)

Answer 1

The correct answer is 1 only.

Key Points

After independence, the first three gallantry awards namely Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted by the Government of India on January 26, 1950, with effect from August 15, 1947. Hence statement 1 is correct.
Subsequently, the other three gallantry awards i.e. Ashoka Chakra Category-I, Ashoka Chakra Category-II and Ashoka Chakra Category-III were instituted by the Government of India on 4 January 1952 with effect from 15 August 1947. Hence statement 2 is incorrect.
- In January 1967, the names of these awards were changed to Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively.
These gallantry awards are announced twice a year –
- first on the occasion of Republic Day and
- then on the occasion of Independence Day.

Important Points

The order of precedence of these awards is
- Param Vir Chakra,
- Ashok Chakra,
- Mahavir Chakra,
- Kirti Chakra,
- Veer Chakra and
- Shaurya Chakra.